Leonor Scliar-Cabral รฉ doutora em Linguรญstica pela Universidade de Sรฃo Paulo e pรณs-doutorada pela Universidade de Montreal Professor Emรฉrita da UFSC. Em 1991, ela se tornou presidente da Sociedade Internacional de Psicolinguรญstica Aplicada e atualmente รฉ membro honorรกrio. Foi presidente da Uniรฃo Brasileira de Escritores (1995-1997) e presidiu a ABRALIN, durante o biรชnio 1997-1999. Pertence ao Conselho Editorial: Revista Internacional de Psicolinguรญstica, Cadernos de Estudos Linguรญsticos, Letras de Hoje (fundadora), Revista ABRALIN entre outros. Pesquisadora do CNPq desde a dรฉcada de 1970, coordena o Grupo de Pesquisa em Produtividade Linguรญstica Emergente, alimentando a base de dados mundial CHILDES e os projetos “Ler & Ser: Combatendo o Analfabetismo Funcional” e Cรกtedra UNESCO MECEAL da UFSC. Junto com dezenas de artigos publicados no Brasil e no exterior estรฃo seus livros: Introduรงรฃo ร Lingรผรญstica; Introduรงรฃo ร Psicolinguรญstica (1990); Romances e canรงรตes sefarditas – sรฉculos XV a XX (1990); Memรณrias de Sefarad (1994); Do senectute erotica (1998); Poesia Espanhola da Idade de Ouro (1998); โO outro, o mesmoโ (In JL Borges, Obras completas, (1999); Cruz e Sousa, o Poeta do Exรญlio, versรฃo poรฉtica para os franceses com M.-H. Torres das Lendas do Filme de Sylvio Back (2000); Princรญpios do sistema do alfabeto portuguรชs e Guia Prรกtico de Alfabetizaรงรฃo (2003), The Sun Fell in Guaรญba (2006); com CR Caldas-Coulthard; Unraveling Psycholinguistics: Basic Concepts (2008); Sagraรงรฃo da Alfabeto (2009); Psycholinguistics: Desafios Cientรญficos e Tecnolรณgicos (2010). Foi indicada como finalista do Prรชmio Jabuti 2010, na Categoria Poesia, pela obra Consagrando o Alfabeto.
Leonor Scliar-Cabral holds a PhD in Linguistics from University of Sรฃo Paulo and a postdoctoral degree from the University of Montrรฉal Professor Emeritus, UFSC. In 1991, she became President of the International Society of Applied Psycholinguistics and is currently an Honorary Member. She was president of the Brazilian Union of Writers (1995-1997) and presided over ABRALIN, during the biennium 1997-1999. She belongs to the Editorial Board: International Journal of Psycholinguistics, Cadernos de Estudos Linguรญsticos, Letras de Hoje (founder), ABRALIN Magazine among others. Researcher at CNPq since the 1970s, she coordinates the Emerging Linguistic Productivity Research Group, feeding the world database CHILDES and the projects “Ler & Ser: Combating Functional Illiteracy” and UNESCO MECEAL Chair at UFSC. Along with dozens of papers published in Brazil and abroad are her books: Introduction to Linguistics; Introduction to Psycholinguistics (1990); Sephardic Romances and Songs – XV to XX Century (1990); Memories of Sefarad (1994); Of senectute erotica (1998); Spanish Poetry of the Golden Age (1998); “The other, the same” (In J.L. Borges, Complete Works, (1999); Cruz e Sousa, the Poet of Exile, poetic version for the French with M.-H. Torres of the Legends of the Film of Sylvio Back (2000); Principles of the Portuguese Alphabet system and Practical Guide to Literacy (2003), O sol caรญa in Guaรญba (2006); with C. R. Caldas-Coulthard; Unraveling Psycholinguistics: Basic Concepts (2008); Sagraรงรฃo da Alfabeto (2009); Psycholinguistics Scientific and Technological Challenges (2010). She was nominated as a finalist for the 2010 Jabuti Prize, in the Poetry Category, for the work Consagrando o Alfabeto.
Diana Wang naciรณ en Polonia en 1945, hija de sobrevivientes de la Shoรก. Llegรณ a la Argentina en 1947. Psicoterapeuta especializada en terapia de pareja (prรกctica privada). Escritora y conferencista. Hasta 2018: Desde โGeneraciones de la Shoรกโ: realizรณ una constante labor en difusiรณn y educaciรณn. Charlas, conferencias, seminarios en la Argentina y el exterior, en instituciones de educaciรณn formal e informal. Produjeron material educativo sobre las variadas temรกticas de la Shoรก, publican los Cuadernos de la Shoรก y han generado el โProyecto Aprendizโ para mantener viva la memoria oral de la Shoรก. Integran el capรญtulo argentino de la IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance). . Desde 2018 miembro del Consejo de Administraciรณn del Museo del Holocausto de Buenos Aires. Continรบan los proyectos de โGeneraciones de la Shoรกโ en Argentina.
________________________________________
Diana Wang was born in Poland in 1945, the daughter of survivors of the Shoah. She arrived in Argentina in 1947. Psychotherapist specializing in couples therapy (private practice). Writer and lecturer. Until 2018: with the โGenerations of the Shoahโ (Holocaust): worked dissemination and education. Talks, conferences, seminars in Argentina and abroad, in formal and informal educational institutions. Her groups produced educational material on the various themes of the Shoah, published the Cuadernos de la Shoรก (Shoah Notebooks) and generated the “Apprentice Project” to keep the oral memory of the Shoah alive. They are part of the Argentine chapter of Integran el capรญtulo argentino de la IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.) Since 2018, Diana Wang is a member of the Board of Directors of the Museum of the Holocaust of Buenos Aires. The โGenerations of the Shoahโ projects continue in Argentina.
Sobrevivientes de la Shoรก y sus descendientes en un trayecto de reconstrucciรณn.
Niรฑos de la Shoรก. Contar lo vivido, incluirlo en el contexto especรญfico, volver a mirarse, ubicarse en una nueva perspectiva y aprender de las propias experiencias, es lo que los sobrevivientes de la Shoรก y sus descendientes hemos encontrado desde que comenzamos a reunirnos. Nos recolectamos con la cadena de nuestro linaje familiar, aprendimos los unos de los otros y fuimos reconstruyendo nuestros pasados con nuevas piezas que respondรญan a oscuros interrogantes y aprendiendo lecciones รบtiles para el presente y el futuro.
Nos conocimos y comenzamos a reunirnos en 1997. Nos contamos nuestras historias y descubrimos con sorpresa cรณmo se parecรญan y cuรกntas cosas que creรญmos nos pasaban solo a nosotros eran compartidas por los demรกs.
Empezamos a ser โNiรฑos de la Shoรกโ porque casi todos habรญan sido muy chicos en aquel momento. Algunos, como yo misma, aunque nacimos poco despuรฉs, vimos que nuestras historias tambiรฉn tenรญan puntos en comรบn. Los nacidos despuรฉs de 1940 casi no tenรญan recuerdos y sus memorias debรญan ser indagadas y reconstruidas. Tambiรฉn los que nacimos una vez terminada la Shoรก buscรกbamos en nuestros pasados familiares los eslabones que nos faltaban para reconstruir la cadena con nuestros padres y abuelos. Suelo decir que lo mรกs importante que me pasรณ en la vida pasรณ antes de que yo naciera. Lo โmรกs importanteโ era lo que nos unรญa y lo que constituรญa un nido cariรฑoso en donde encontrar las claves que nos faltaban. Todos tenemos una relaciรณn รญntima y personal con la Shoรก y el compartirla nos regalรณ una nueva pertenencia, nos sentรญamos una familia.
Generaciones de la Shoรก. En 2004 emprendimos una gran aventura, el encuentro internacional que llamamos De Cara al Futuro con la asistencia de sobrevivientes, hijos, nietos, parientes, docentes, historiadores y personalidades de la cultura de varios paรญses. Este evento consolidรณ nuestra asociaciรณn que se formalizรณ y pasรณ a ser “Generaciones de la Shoรก” en Argentina.
Generaciones fue una instituciรณn muy particular en el contexto de las organizaciones judรญas locales, porque estaba integrada por muchas mujeres. Los hombres que nos acompaรฑaban se sorprendรญan de que pudiรฉramos estar hablando de cuatro cosas al mismo tiempo, no solo sobre lo que habรญa que hacer sino tambiรฉn sobre el estado de salud de cada uno, quรฉ hija estรก embarazada o quรฉ nieto tuvo un รฉxito en la escuela o mucha fiebre la noche anterior.
Una instituciรณn diferente. Claramente inventamos un modo particular distinto de los modelos usuales de las organizaciones judรญas locales. No habรญa diferencia entre la comisiรณn directiva que pensaba y decidรญa y quienes ejecutaban lo decidido. Los que integrรกbamos la Comitรฉ Directiva estรกbamos en todas las otras รกreas: discutรญamos, pensรกbamos, firmรกbamos cheques y, cuando hacรญa falta, tomรกbamos una escoba y barrรญamos el piso. Mientras generรกbamos materiales educativos bajรกbamos a abrir la puerta, cuando inventรกbamos proyectos innovadores estรกbamos tambiรฉn atentos a que no faltara el cafรฉ ni el tรฉ ni el mate ni el edulcorante ni las galletitas. Todos voluntarios, todos llevando adelante una misiรณn muy significativa, estรกbamos en nuestra casa con nuestra familia.
Eran reuniones fรฉrtiles, con un clima tan amable que daba gusto estar allรญ. Pero no sรณlo creรกbamos y difundรญamos materiales pedagรณgicos, tambiรฉn celebrรกbamos las fechas de nuestra tradiciรณn judรญa, festejรกbamos los cumpleaรฑos, nos acompaรฑรกbamos en las tristezas y nos alegrรกbamos con las alegrรญasโฆ constituรญamos una impensada nueva red entraรฑables, tal vez una compensaciรณn afectiva por lo que algunas de nosotros nos habรญa faltado en nuestras infancias.
Aprendimos de nuestros padres y sobrevivientes, a transformar la tragedia en una filosofรญa que privilegia la vida y le da sentido, contando hasta con alegrรญa quiรฉnes รฉramos y lo que habรญamos aprendido. Participamos intensamente en redes sociales y reaccionamos fuertemente ante la utilizaciรณn de la Shoรก para fines ajenos a ella, los lugares comunes y las mentiras. Frases como โnunca mรกsโ, โrecordar para no repetirโ, โpara las futuras generacionesโ, y tantas otras que escuchamos a diario, nos llevan una y otra vez a explicaciones y desmitificaciones. Rectificamos permanentemente informaciones falsas. Luchamos contra la banalizaciรณn cuando se menciona al nazismo, a Hitler o a Goebbels, como un sustantivo comรบn, como un insulto. Salimos al cruce de las declaraciones que toman los hechos a la ligera y superficialmente, que los tergiversa e impide revelar y comprender su contenido y alcance. Protestamos ante la espuria comparaciรณn entre la Shoรก y la polรญtica del Estado de Israel seรฑalando que el hoy llamado anti-sionismo es el mismo antisemitismo travestido.
Miembros de Generaciones de la Shoรก
Creamos tres proyectos que nos trascenderรกn: los Cuadernos de la Shoรก y el Proyecto Aprendiz I y II.
1.- Cuadernos de la Shoรก. Es una publicaciรณn destinada a los docentes que precisan una herramienta pedagรณgica exhaustiva para enseรฑar sobre el Holocausto. Cada Cuaderno (hay 8 publicados y el 9 a punto de salir) encara un tema especรญfico, los rescatadores, los niรฑos, las mujeres, las resistencias, la shoรก inmersa en la segunda guerra, la deshumanizaciรณn, las trayectorias, los genocidios del siglo XX. Cada nรบmero estรก estructurado alrededor de 3 ejes: la conceptualizaciรณn, el diseรฑo y la ilustraciรณn grรกfica y los testimonios personales que transmiten el aspecto humano involucrado.
2.- Proyecto Aprendiz I. Surgiรณ para asegurar que cada una de las historias siga siendo contada de manera presencial y oral. Cuando ya no haya sobrevivientes que cuenten lo vivido, El testimonio vivo permite la interacciรณn, la pregunta y llega directamente a cada oyente porque es entregado con la emociรณn de quien lo viviรณ. La idea es capacitar a adultos jรณvenes para contar, el dรญa de maรฑana, la historia de un sobreviviente particular. Durante tres meses de contacto directo, cada Aprendiz conoce, acompaรฑa y conversa con un sobreviviente. No es solo sobre sus vivencias en la Shoรก, tambiรฉn sobre su infancia, su vejez, sus ideales, sus alegrรญas, sus tristezas. El Aprendiz recibe e incorpora esa historia a su propia vida y se compromete a contarla en las siguientes dรฉcadas. Son en la actualidad 150 los Aprendices que tienen ahora esta nueva responsabilidad en sus vidas.
La superviviente Lea Zajac (derecha) y su aprendiz Darรญo Berlinerblau (izquierda), en Buenos Aires
3.- Proyecto Aprendiz II. Creamos una segunda etapa, la capacitaciรณn de los Aprendices en la construcciรณn de una charla breve, de hasta 20 minutos, contando la experiencia vivida al lado del sobreviviente y la manera en que fueron atravesados por ella en su propia vida. Cada charla se registra en video que se difunde por las redes sociales. Estas breves charlas tienen un fuerte potencial educativo. En una clase alcanza el tiempo para complementarlo con conceptualizaciones, comentarios, preguntas y actividades pedagรณgicas que aseguran la comprensiรณn de lo vivido.
Las charlas de estos adultos jรณvenes tienen un poderoso efecto sobre quienes las oyen. La anรฉcdota, la presencia viva, la emociรณn puesta en acto, son vehรญculos privilegiados para que la memoria se estimule y no se pierda en el olvido.
4. – Museo del Holocausto de Buenos Aires. En 2018 pasamos a integrar el Museo aunando esfuerzos y voluntariados. Aportamos lo que somos y lo que sabemos, los materiales que producimos y los testimonios a escuelas y universidades.
El sobreviviente Rudi Haymann
Dialogamos con distintos grupos, aprendemos y enseรฑamos, integramos el capรญtulo argentino de la Alianza Internacional para la memoria del Holocausto, acompaรฑamos con capacitaciones, testimonios y con nuestros sobrevivientes al programa Marcha por la Vida. Participamos de la Red Latinoamericana para la Enseรฑanza de la Shoรก y seguimos con los Cuadernos de la Shoรก y con el Proyecto Aprendiz. Este รบltimo estรก en proceso de reactualizaciรณn dado que el paso del tiempo hizo que ya no contemos con sobrevivientes para hacerlo. Entraremos al escenario los hijos de sobrevivientes con nuestras experiencias de haber crecido con las marcas que la Shoรก dejรณ en nuestros padres; tambiรฉn los nietos, ya mรกs libres del vรญnculo directo con los sobrevivientes, con una renovada capacidad de pregunta, investigaciรณn y memoria.
En sรญntesis. Durante la Batalla de Inglaterra, Sir Winston Churchill se refiriรณ a quienes lucharon diciendo que โnunca tan pocos habรญan hecho tanto por tantosโ. Somos, como aquel escuadrรณn de la RAF, un puรฑado de personas, con pequeรฑas voces que, antes desde Niรฑos de la Shoรก, Generaciones de la Shoรก y ahora desde el Museo, crecen y se amplifican, se vuelven fuertes y potentes en su persistencia por mantener viva la memoria de la Shoรก, generar conciencia para que el tan ansiado โnunca mรกsโ alguna vez lo sea.
Survivors of the Shoah and their descendants in a trajectory of reconstruction
Children of the Shoรก. To tell of what was lived, to include it in the chain of family descendance, to understand it according to the specific context, to look at it again, to put it into a new perspective and to learn from oneโs own experiences is what the survivors of the Shoah (Holocaust) and their descendants have found to be since we began to meet. We reconnected with the chain of our family lineage; we learned from each other and we went on reconstructing our pasts with new pieces that responded to obscure questions. We learned useful lessons for the present and for the future.
We began to meet regularly in 1997. We told our stories, and with surprise, we discovered how very similar were so many things we had believed happened only to each one of us, and were, in fact, shared with the others.
We began as the โChildren of the Shoah,โ because almost all of us had been very little at the end of the war. Some, including myself, though born a bit after that, saw that our stories also had points in common. Those born after 1940 have almost no early memories and so their โmemoriesโ had to be investigated and reconstructed. Also, those of us who were born after the Shoah sought in our familiesโ past the links that we lacked to reconstruct the chain of connections to our parents and our grandparents. I often say that most important thing that happened to me in my life, happened before I was born. That โmost Important thingโ was that which unified us and what became an affectionate nest in which to find the keys that we lacked. We all had an intimate and personal relationship with the Shoah, and sharing it gave us a new sense of belonging. We felt like a family.
A Different Type of Institution. Clearly, we invented a way of doing things that was different from the usual procedures of local Jewish organizations. There was no difference between the Board of was Directors who thought about and made decisions and those who carried out what decided upon. Those of us who were members of the Board, were active in all other areas: we participated discussions, thought, signed checks about programs, and when it was necessary, took a broom and swept the floor. While we generated educational materials, we went down to open the door; while we invented innovative projects, we also made sure that there was no lack of coffee, tea, mate, sweetener and crackers. All volunteers, we all developed a very meaningful mission, we were in our home with our family.
Generations of the Shoah. In 2004, we set out on a great adventure, an international conference that we called โFacing the Future. In attendance were survivors, children, grandchildren, relatives, teachers, historians and cultural figures from several countries. This event strengthened our association. It was formalized and began to be known as the โGenerations of the Shoahโ in Argentina. โGenerationsโ was a very unusual in the context of local Jewish organization, because it mainly consisted of women. The men who accompanied us were amazed that we were able to be talking about four things at the same time, not only what had to be done, but also the health of each one of us, whose daughter was pregnant or which grandson had done well at school or had a high fever the previous night.
These were fertile meetings, with such a pleasant environment that it was enjoyable to be there. But we didnโt only create and distributed pedagogic materials, we also celebrated the holidays of our Jewish tradition, celebrated birthdays, gave support during unhappy events and were happy about our joys. . .we constituted an unexpected new affective web with close ties, perhaps a compensation for what some of us had lacked during our childhoods.
We learned from our parents and survivors to transform the tragedy into a motive for living. We created a philosophy that valued life and gave it meaning, in the organization as well as in our own lives, recounting, almost with joy, who we were and what we had learned.
We participated intensely in social networks, and we reacted strongly against the use of the Shoah for reasons that were not connected to it. Phrases like โNever again,โ โRemember so not to repeat,โ โFor the future generationsโ and so many others that we heard every day, brought us back again and again to explanations and demystifications. We permanently rectified false information. We fought against the banalization when Nazism, Hitler or Goebbels were mentioned as a common noun, which we took as an insult. We came out against statements that treated the facts lightly or superficially. We repudiated statements that distorted the facts, for they impeded making the making them known and the understanding of their content and scope. We protested against the spurious comparison of the Shoah with the politics of the State of Israel, pointing that what is now called Anti-Zionism is the same old Anti-Semitism in disguise.
Members of Generations of the Shoah
We created three project that would go beyond what we had accomplished so far: the Cuadernos de la Shoรก (Notebooks of the Shoah) and Proyecto Aprendiz I y II (Project Apprentice I and 2 (Project Apprentice I and II).
1. Cuadernos de la Shoรก. The Cuadernos are a publication directed at teachers who require an exhaustive pedagogical tool for teaching about the Holocaust. Each Cuaderno (there are now eight published and a nineth about to come out) deals with a specific theme: the rescuers, the children, the women, the resistance, the Shoah as part of the Second World War, the dehumanization, the outcomes, the genocides of the twentieth century. Each book is structured around three central concepts: the definition and explanation of the main ideas, the design of the book and graphic illustrations, the personal testimonies of survivors that transmit the human aspect of those involved.
To Live with Evil: Genocides of the Twentieth Century
2. โ Project Apprentice I. Project Apprentice I was developed to assure that each one of the living survivorโs stories continue to be told in an oral and face-to-face way. The living testimony permits interaction and questioning and brings directly to each listener the emotion of someone who lived through it all. The idea is to train young adults to tell in the future, the history of a specific survivor. During three months of direct contact, each Apprentice gets to know, accompanies, converses with the survivor. This conversation treats not only the survivorโs experiences during the Shoah, but also her childhood, her old age, her ideals, her joys, her sorrows. The Apprentice receives and incorporates that story into his or her life and commits to retell it in the coming decades. There are now 150 Apprentices who now have this responsibility.
Survivor Lea Zajac (right) with her apprentice Darรญo Berlinerblau (left), in Buenos Aires
3. Project Apprentice II. We created a second level to these activities. The Apprentices were trained to develop a short talk, up to twenty minutes in length, in which they described their experiences living along with a survivor and the ways in which their own lives were affected by it. Each talk was recorded on videos that were distributed through social media. These brief talks have a strong potential in education. After showing a video in a single class, there is time left to complement it with concepts, commentaries, questions and pedagogic activities that assure the understanding of what had been lived through.
The talks by these young adults have a strong effect on those who hear them. The anecdote, the living presence, the immediacy of emotion are exceptional vehicles for stimulating memory and not allowing things to be forgotten.
4. Museum of the Holocaust in Buenos Aires. In 2018, Generations of the Shoah became part of the Museum of the Holocaust in Buenos Aires, combining forces and voluntary work. We contributed who we are and what we knew, the materials we produced and the presentations to schools and universities. We learn and we teach.
Conversations with Survivors: The survivor Rudi Haymann is interviewed from Chile
We were in dialogue with different groups. We formed the Argentine chapter of the International Alliance for the Memory of the Holocaust. With training sessions, testimonies, and with our survivors, we supported the March for Life. We participate in the Latin American Network for the Teaching of the Shoah. We continue with the Cuadernos de la Shoรก and Proyecto Aprendiz. This activity is in the process of reformulation, given that with the passage of time, we can no longer count on survivors to take part. We will encounter the situation of the children of the survivors like us with our own experience of having grown up with the scars left in our parents and also our grandchildren, now freer from the direct connection with the survivors, with a renewed capacity for questioning, investigation and memory.
In synthesis. During the Battle of Britain, Sir Winston Churchill referred to those who fought, saying that โnever have so few done so much for so many.โ We are like that squadron of the RAF, a handful of people, with small voices that as the Children of the Shoah, Generations of the Shoah and now from the Museum, grow and become louder, become strong and powerful in their persistence to keep alive the memory of the Shoah, generate consciousness so that the so wished for โNever againโ will someday be so.
_________________________________________________
Memory in Action
Survivors of the Shoah and their descendants in a trajectory of reconstruction
Children of the Shoah. To tell of what was lived, to include it in the chain of family descendance, to understand it according to the specific context, to look at it again, to put it into a new perspective and to learn from oneโs own experiences, all of this is what we are. the survivors of the Shoah (Holocaust) and their descendants have found to be since the very moment in which we began to meet. Additionally, we learned from each other and we went on reconstructing our pasts with new pieces that responded to obscure questions. We learned useful lessons for the present and for the future. We began to meet regularly in 1997. We told our stories, and with surprise, we discovered how very similar were so many things we had believed happened only to each one of us, and were, in fact, shared with the others.
We began as the โChildren of the Shoah,โ because almost all of us had been very little at the end of the war. Some, including myself, though born a bit after that, saw that our stories also had points in common. Those born after 1940 have almost no early memories and so their โmemoriesโ had to be investigated and reconstructed. Also, those of us who were born after the Shoah sought in our familiesโ past the links that we lacked to reconstruct the chain of connections to our parents and our grandparents. I often say that most important thing that happened to me in my life, happened before I was born. That โmost Important thingโ was that which unified us and what became an affectionate nest in which to find the keys that we lacked. We all had an intimate and personal relationship with the Shoah, and sharing it gave us a new sense of belonging. We felt like a family.
A Different Type of Institution. Clearly, we invented a way of doing things that was different from the usual procedures of local Jewish organizations. There was no difference between the Board of was Directors who thought about and made decisions and those who carried out what decided upon. Those of us who were members of the Board, were active in all other areas: we participated discussions, thought, signed checks about programs, and when it was necessary, took a broom and swept the floor. While we generated educational materials, we went down to open the door; while we invented innovative projects, we also made sure that there was no lack of coffee, tea, mate, sweetener and crackers. All volunteers, we all developed a very meaningful mission, we were in our home with our family.
Generations of the Shoah. In 2004, we set out on a great adventure, an international conference that we called โFacing the Future. In attendance were survivors, children, grandchildren, relatives, teachers, historians and cultural figures from several countries. This event strengthened our association. It was formalized and began to be known as the โGenerations of the Shoahโ in Argentina. โGenerationsโ was a very unusual in the context of local Jewish organization, because it mainly consisted of women. The men who accompanied us were amazed that we were able to be talking about four things at the same time, not only what had to be done, but also the health of each one of us, whose daughter was pregnant or which grandson had done well at school or had a high fever the previous night.
These were fertile meetings, with such a pleasant environment that it was enjoyable to be there. But we didnโt only create and distributed pedagogic materials, we also celebrated the holidays of our Jewish tradition, celebrated birthdays, gave support during unhappy events and were happy about our joys. . .we constituted an unexpected new affective web with close ties, perhaps a compensation for what some of us had lacked during our childhoods.
We learned from our parents and survivors to transform the tragedy into a motive for living. We created a philosophy that valued life and gave it meaning, in the organization as well as in our own lives, recounting, almost with joy, who we were and what we had learned.
We participated intensely in social networks, and we reacted strongly against the use of the Shoah for reasons that were not connected to it. Phrases like โNever again,โ โRemember so not to repeat,โ โFor the future generationsโ and so many others that we heard every day, brought us back again and again to explanations and demystifications. We permanently rectified false information. We fought against the banalization when Nazism, Hitler or Goebbels were mentioned as a common noun, which we took as an insult. We came out against statements that treated the facts lightly or superficially. We repudiated statements that distorted the facts, for they impeded making the making them known and the understanding of their content and scope. We protested against the spurious comparison of the Shoah with the politics of the State of Israel, pointing that what is now called Anti-Zionism is the same old Anti-Semitism in disguise.
We created three project that would go beyond what we had accomplished so far: the Cuadernos de la Shoรก (Notebooks of the Shoah) and Proyecto Aprendiz I y II (Project Aprendiz I and 2 (Project Apprendice I and II).
1. Cuadernos de la Shoรก. The Cuadernos are a publication directed at teachers who require an exhaustive pedagogical tool for teaching about the Holocaust. Each Cuaderno (there are now eight published and a nineth about to come out) deals with a specific theme: the rescuers, the children, the women, the resistance, the Shoah as part of the Second World War, the dehumanization, the outcomes, the genocides of the twentieth century. Each book is structured around three central concepts: the definition and explanation of the main ideas, the design of the book and graphic illustrations, the personal testimonies of survivors that transmit the human aspect of those involved.
To Live with Evil: Genocides of the Twentieth Century
2. โ Project Apprentice I. Project Apprentice I was developed to assure that each one of the living survivorโs stories continue to be told in an oral and face-to-face way. The living testimony permits interaction and questioning and brings directly to each listener the emotion of someone who lived through it all. The idea is to train young adults to tell in the future, the history of a specific survivor. During three months of direct contact, each Apprentice gets to know, accompanies, converses with the survivor. This conversation treats not only the survivorโs experiences during the Shoah, but also her childhood, her old age, her ideals, her joys, her sorrows. The Apprentice receives and incorporates that story into his or her life and commits to retell it in the coming decades. There are now 150 Apprentices who now have this responsibility.
Project Apprentice II
La superviviente Lea Zajac (izquierda) y su aprendiz Darรญo Berlinerblau (derecha), en Buenos Aires
To tell of what was lived, to include it in the chain of family descendance, to understand it according to the specific context, to look at it again, to put it into a new perspective and to learn from oneโs own experiences, all of this is what we are. the survivors of the Shoah (Holocaust) and their descendants have found to be since the very moment in which we began to meet. Additionally, we learned from each other and we went on reconstructing our pasts with new pieces that responded to obscure questions. We learned useful lessons for the present and for the future. We began to meet regularly in 1997. We told our stories, and with surprise, we discovered how very similar were so many things we had believed happened only to each one of us, and were, in fact, shared with the others.
3. Project Apprentice II. We created a second level to these activities. The Apprentices were trained to develop a short talk, up to twenty minutes in length, in which they described their experiences living along with a survivor and the ways in which their own lives were affected by it. Each talk was recorded on videos that were distributed through social media. These brief talks have a strong potential in education. After showing a video in a single class, there is time left to complement it with concepts, commentaries, questions and pedagogic activities that assure the understanding of what had been lived through.
The talks by these young adults have a strong effect on those who hear them. The anecdote, the living presence, the immediacy of emotion are exceptional vehicles for stimulating memory and not allowing things to be forgotten.
4. Museum of the Holocaust in Buenos Aires. In 2018, Generations of the Shoah became part of the Museum of the Holocaust in Buenos Aires, combining forces and voluntary work. We contributed who we are and what we knew, the materials we produced and the presentations to schools and universities. We learn and we teach.
We were in dialogue with different groups. We formed the Argentine chapter of the International Alliance for the Memory of the Holocaust. With training sessions, testimonies, and with our survivors, we supported the March for Life. We participate in the Latin American Network for the Teaching of the Shoah. We continue with the Cuadernos de la Shoรก and Proyecto Aprendiz. This activity is in the process of reformulation, given that with the passage of time, we can no longer count on survivors to take part. We will encounter the situation of the children of the survivors like us with our own experience of having grown up with the scars left in our parents and also our grandchildren, now freer from the direct connection with the survivors, with a renewed capacity for questioning, investigation and memory.
In synthesis. During the Battle of Britain, Sir Winston Churchill referred to those who fought, saying that โnever have so few done so much for so many.โ We are like that squadron of the RAF, a handful of people, with small voices that as the Children of the Shoah, Generations of the Shoah and now from the Museum, grow and become louder, become strong and powerful in their persistence to keep alive the memory of the Shoah, generate consciousness so that the so wished for โNever againโ will someday be so.
2013 โ โCon una piedra en el zapatoโ, novela testimonial. Escrita en 1996. Recibiรณ la Menciรณn de Honor en el Primer Concurso de Novela de la Editorial Acervo en 1998. Permaneciรณ inรฉdita hasta esta ediciรณn en e-book hecha por Amazon.
2012 โโDie versteckten Kinder: Aus dem Holocaust nach Buenos Airesโ, ediciรณn en alemรกn de โLos niรฑos escondidos: del Holocausto a Buenos Airesโ. La traducciรณn al alemรกn fue subsidiada por la Cancillerรญa argentina y el libro fue elegido como uno de los que representarรญa a la Argentina en la Feria del Libro de Frankfurt 2010.
2012. – โVolverโ, crรณnica de viaje escrita en 1995. La versiรณn en e-book es una ediciรณn de Bukium.
2008 โ El silencio de los aparecidos, re-ediciรณn, Editorial Generaciones de la Shoรก (ediciรณn actualizada y aumentada)
2007 โ โHijos de la Guerra. La segunda generaciรณn de la Shoรกโ, la continuaciรณn de la vida de los que vivieron, sus hijos y cรณmo fueron procesando el pasado de sus padres, cรณmo afectรณ sus vidas y quรฉ caminos les llevรณ a andar.
2012 | Ministerio de Justicia y DDHH: โLa Shoรก, los genocidios y crรญmenes de lesa humanidad: Enseรฑanzas para los juristasโ. Ponencia: โยฟPor quรฉ recordar la Shoรก en la Argentina?โ en la sesiรณn IV del simposio โLa polรญtica de la memoriaโ. pรกg. 144. Versiรณn en pdf
2007 | Eliahu Toker, Ana Weinstein: Nietos y abuelos. Un intenso vรญnculo. Ediciones Instituto Movilizador de Fondos Cooperativos. Buenos Aires. Caps: โAbuelas y frutillasโ, pรกg. 27 y โLa รบltima fronteraโ pรกg. 30
2004 | Nรฉlida Boulgourdjian-Toufeksian, Juan Carlos Toufeksian, Carlos Alemian (comp): Anรกlisis de la prรกcticas genocidas. Actas del IV Encuentro sobre Genocidio. Fundaciรณn Siranoush y Boghos Arzoumanian, Buenos Aires. Capรญtulo Genocidio y memoria: โLa segunda generaciรณn de sobrevivientes. Su lugar en el escenario del genocidioโ, pรกg.203
2004 | Ricardo Feierstein, Stephen Sadow (comps): Recreando la cultura judeoargentina 2. Literatura y artes plรกsticas. Editorial Mila, Buenos Aires. โVictimizaciรณn e identidad. Reflexiones serias a partir de textos humorรญsticosโ, pรกg 280
2002| Cristina Godoy (comp): Historiografรญa y Memoria colectiva. Tiempos y territorios. Miรฑo y Dรกvila, Buenos Aires. Cap:โEl mal y su legitimaciรณn socialโ, pรกg 91.
2002 | Ricardo Feierstein, Stephen Sadow (comps): Recreando la cultura judeoargentina. 1894-2001, en el umbral del segundo siglo. Editorial Mila, Buenos Aires. Cap: โLo judรญo en mi obraโ, pรกg. 311
Mauricio Rosencof (1933โ), dramaturgo, novelista y poeta uruguayo. Nacido en Florida, Uruguay, se convirtiรณ en uno de los principales escritores y periodistas del paรญs. Fue lรญder del Movimiento de Liberaciรณn Nacional clandestino (Tupamaros), y en 1972 fue detenido por el gobierno militar y mantenido como preso polรญtico en completo aislamiento durante mรกs de 11 aรฑos. Sus memorias de detenido estรกn compiladas en Memorias del calabozo (1987-1988), de tres volรบmenes. Rosencof es un dramaturgo importante en Uruguay. Sus obras Las ranas (1961), La valija (1965), El saco de Antonio (1985) yโฆ y nuestros caballos serรกn blancos (1985) son clรกsicos del teatro uruguayo del siglo XX. Sus primeros trabajos consistieron casi exclusivamente en una visiรณn crรญtica de la sociedad y los procesos polรญticos uruguayos con especial รฉnfasis en la lucha por la justicia social. Muchos de sus trabajos posteriores al encarcelamiento pueden clasificarse como literatura infantil, como Canciones para alegrar a una niรฑa (1985), Leyendas del abuelo de la tarde (1990) y Los trabajitos de Dios (2001). La novela Las cartas que no llegaron (2000) representa el primer esfuerzo del autor por escribir un texto de temรกtica especรญficamente judรญa. La novela es una memoria รญntima y personal de su tiempo en la cรกrcel como un detenido polรญtico entrelazado con la conexiรณn de su familia con el Holocausto. Al hacerlo, Rosencof se une a varios autores judรญos latinoamericanos que encuentran puntos en comรบn en la persecuciรณn de los llamados subversivos, torturados y asesinados en campos de concentraciรณn por gobiernos militares neo-fascistas, y judรญos asesinados bajo el nazismo europeo.
Mauricio Rosencof (1933โ ), Uruguayan playwright, novelist, and poet. Born in Florida, Uruguay, he became one of the country’s leading writers and journalists. He was a leader in the underground National Liberation Movement (Tupamaros), and in 1972 he was detained by the military government and held as a political prisoner in complete isolation for more than 11 years. His memoirs as a detainee are compiled in the three-volume Memorias del calabozo (1987โ88). Rosencof is a major dramatist in Uruguay. His works Las ranas (1961), La valija (1965), El saco de Antonio (1985), and โฆ y nuestros caballos serรกn blancos (1985) are classics of 20th century Uruguayan theater. His early works almost exclusively consisted of a critical view of Uruguayan society and political processes with particular emphasis on the struggle for social justice. Many of his post-incarceration works may be classified as children’s literature, such as Canciones para alegrar a una niรฑa (1985), Leyendas del abuelo de la tarde (1990), and Los trabajitos de Dios (2001). The novel Las cartas que no llegaron (2000) represents the author’s first effort to write a specifically Jewish-themed text. The novel is an intimate, personal memoir of his time spent imprisoned as a political detainee interwoven with his family’s connection to the Holocaust. In doing so, Rosencof joins a number of Latin American Jewish authors who find common ground in the persecution of so-called subversives, tortured and killed in concentration camps by neo-fascist military governments, and Jews murdered under European Nazism.
Vamos, Viejo. Tranquilo. Vamos arriba, Viejo. Vos te bancaste la trinchera de una guerra reglamentaria, corriste, cazaste y destripaste la rata que te habรญa comido la raciรณn y te la reciclaste; vos fuiste un desaparecido, mamรก te llorรณ, era tu novia, casi niรฑa, y todos; y un dรญa volviste y fuiste a la sastrerรญa de Lublin, y te dieron una limosna hasta que documentaste tu carnalidad y lloraron y te diste un baรฑo y te dieron ropa y comiste y volviste a tu puesto de trabajo, meta aguja, nomรกs. Vamos, Viejo, no te me achiques por esto, vos, que cada vez que me veรญas en la cama de Leรณn pensabas en Leรณn, vos, que acompaรฑaste a mamรก que desde aquel dรญa nunca mรกs tuvo una sonrisa, vos, papรก, nunca supe quรฉ esperabas de mรญ, quรฉ quenas de mรญ, que viviera nomรกs, que fuera, porque ya no habรญa nadie mรกs en tu vida, todo tu bosque familiar talado, incinerado, nada, solo la memoria de los รบltimos dรญas que te fue llegando en cartas de Pandora que no guardaban en ningรบn rincรณn ni el รญnfimo huevo de la mariposa de la esperanza. Vamos, Viejo. No te quedes. No te me quedes, te necesito. Aunque mรกs no sea que para que llores en una visita, como aquella, en la que, como en otras, hablaste bajito, como para vos, nomรกs, porque nunca me dijiste nada, ni un reproche, ni una queja, y recordaste entonces que tu mamรก se abrazรณ a los dos niรฑos, tus sobrinos, chiquitos, a quienes venรญan a buscar para extraerles sangre, toda la sangre, porque claro, los soldados necesitan, y ella no los quiso soltar ni los niรฑos desprenderse, 7 los SS ucranianos perdieron la paciencia, es lรณgico, y con los mangos de pico con que guardaban el orden, los callaron, porque gritaban ยซno… noยป y lloraban, y era insoportable y nunca mรกs, para que aprendan. Te necesito para eso, no te me quedes, papรก, ahora que volviste a perder territorio, vecinos, canarios, el plรกtano con clavo, frente a la puerta, donde soleabas el cardenal, no Viejo, vamos arriba. Arriba, Viejo, yo sรฉ que una vuelta dijiste, para vos, siempre para vos, nunca a mรญ, solo esa frase que es todo y para quรฉ mรกs: ยซNunca pensรฉ que mi vejez iba a ser asรญยป. Y ahora me dicen que me viste. Que; fuiste con mamรก al comedor comรบn del asilo, que no querรญan, que no querรญan salir de ese apartamentito limpio, limpito, con dormitorio y baรฑo, con una mesita y un rincรณn con calentador, que no quieren salir, que quieren estar ahรญ, que la comida tambiรฉn se reparte, que Walter les trae alitas de pollo o de gallina, mรกs bien de gallina, pero que no quieren salir; pero ese dรญa sรญ salieron, y la Directora, que es buenรญsima, les ofreciรณ el lugar que quisieran, pero siempre con otros, y fueron a una mesa donde habรญa otro habitante de la ยซciudad de los bastonesยป que nunca hablaba, que vivรญa para adentro nomรกs, de donde no querรญa salir, como ustedes del cuarto, y allรญ se sentaron, eran tres en una mesa, y fue cuando se abriรณ la doble hoja de la puerta transparente y yo entrรฉ, y vos te paraste y viste que los buscaba y no los veรญa y te pusiste pรกlido, y yo tenรญa aquel traje azul marino derecho con tres botones que fue el รบltimo, y mamรก nada y el otro habitante de la mesa nada, sรณlo yo que entraba y los buscaba y te buscaba y no te veรญa y vos sรญ, dicen que pรกlido, parado como si estuvieras en la cabecera de una larga mesa familiar poblada, y dijiste aquella frase que, por el momento, la voy a guardar, que la guardo para todos los momentos, para siempre, pero que en este pรกrrafo no la voy a pronunciar, y que es la llave, es una llave, una clave de La Palabra, la clave de La Palabra, que tanto los preocupรณ porque eran racionalistas como yo antes, y claro, te querรญan, te cuidaban y te llevaron al mรฉdico.
Fuerza, mi Viejo. Cuando uno cuenta los naufragios es porque no se ahogรณ. Fuerza. Hemos navegado mucho, durante muchos aรฑos, en los muchos โal cabo de los aรฑosโ minutos de la visita. La visita fue para vos y para mรญ, el Mar del Encuentro. Y allรญ montรกbamos nuestra propia balsa y meta remar recuerdos. Tu Afuera y mi Mรกs Acรก se juntaban en ese mar que separaba dos continentes. En รฉl sรญ, ahรญ sรญ, en esa frontera sรญ pude estar en vos. Asรญ que estas lรญneas son, papรก, como quien dice, los Cuentos de la Frontera. Y allรก en el asilo, papรก, todos, tan viejitos. Tan huรฉrfanos, Viejo, tan huรฉrfanos de la vida exterior, huรฉrfanos de vida exterior, todos, allรญ; aunque a veces el tiempo se detenรญa en el jardรญn del fondo y una pareja volvรญa a ser del mundo, una mirada a travรฉs de los lentes, una sonrisa coqueta, y asรญ el del 2 con la del 14 vuelven a ser novios, entre ellos, novios, y hablan con la Directora, que pregunta sobre la seriedad de sus intenciones, y es una historia de amor que culmina en casamiento, con fiesta, y ella de blanco en la sinagoga del Hogar y habrรก cambios en los alojamientos porque van a vivir juntos.
Era un acontecimiento. Pero, por lo general, el tiempo seguรญa de largo y mรกs bien se detenรญa para llevarse a alguno, como los fue llevando a ustedes, que lo esquivaron ยซhasta ver al hijoยป. Yo creo, papรก, que los viejos se mueren cuando quieren, por eso vos y mamรก, tu ยซcachivacheยป, como le decรญas, se lo tomaron con calma y bancaron, aguardaron hasta esa noche, nochecita, cuando mi cuerpo real transpuso las muchas puertas, custodiadas, muy custodiada la primera, que fuera de hora no se entraba; la ยซciudad de los bastonesยป dormรญa con un ojo abierto, ha pasado tantas veces en tantos lados, nuestros viejitos son sagrados, que nadie los toque, porque ya han sido muy tocados, y sobre todo por vos y mamรก, Viejo, porque la Directora recibรญa llamadas telefรณnicas, muchas llamadas que nunca te dijeron, ยซsaquen de ahรญ a esos viejos de mierda, a los padres de ese hijo de puta, los sacan o les ponemos la bombaยป, y nunca te lo dijeron, y hubo reuniones, sesiones, consultas, ยซy de aquรญ no se vanยป, y no se fueron, no los fueron de la รบltima Tule, bendita Raquel y todos aquellos que pusieron mรกs vigilancia, ยซpero de aquรญ no se vanยป.
Come on, Old Man. Donโt worry. Letโs go upstairs, Old Man, you put up with the trenches of a real war, you ran, you hunted and gutted the rat that had eaten your rations and you recycled it; you were a disappeared person, mama cried over you, she was the bride, almost a girl, and all that; and one day you returned want went to the tailor shop in Lublin, and they gave you a handout until you gave evidence of your carnality. and they cried and you had a bath and they gave you clothing and you returned to your work seat, you sowed with the needle, nothing else. Letโs go, Old Man, put me down for this, you, every time that you saw me in Leonโs bed, your thought about Leon, you, who accompanied mama, who from that day on, never had a smile on her face, you, papa, I never knew what you wanted from me, what prize from me, that I live, thatโs all, that it be so, because there was no longer anything in your life, all your family tree cut down, incinerated, nothing, only the memory of the final days when Pandoraโs letters were reaching you, they never kept in any corner, the tiny egg of the daisy of hope. Letโs go, Old Man. Donโt leave. Donโt leave me. I need you. Although it may only that you cry during a visit, like that time, in which, as in the others, you spoke in a very low voice, as for yourself, nothing more, for you never told me anything, not a reproach, not a complaint, and you remembered then that your mother hugged the two children, your cousins, little ones, to whom they came to search for to extract their blood, all their blood, because, of course, the soldiers need it, and she didnโt want to let go and the children be taken away, 7 of the Ukrainian SS lost their patience, as to be expected, and with the sharp-pointed handles with which they kept order, quieted them down, because they were yelling โno. . .noโ and they cried and it was unbearable and never again, so they learn. I need you for that. Donโt leave me, now that you are losing territory again, neighbors, canaries, the prick with the nail, in front of the door, where you leave the cardinal in the sun, no Old Man, letโs go upstairs. Up, Old Man, I know that you said something again, for yourself, always for yourself, never to me, only that phrase that is all and for what else: โI never thought that my old age was going to be like this.โ And now they tell me that you saw me. That you went with mama to the dining room of the home, that they didnโt want to, that they didnโt want to leave that clean, very clean little apartment, with bedroom and bathroom, with a little table and a corner with the heater, that you didnโt want to leave, that you wanted to be there, that the food was shared too, that Walter brings you wings of chickens and or big hens, more likely hens, that you donโt want to leave, but that day you two did leave, the Madam Director, who is very, very good, offered you any place you desired, but always with others, and you went to a table where there was another resident of โthe city of the canes,โ who never spoke, who lived inside, no more, from which he didnโt want to leave, like you two from the room, and there you sat down, there were three at the table, and it was when the transparent double-sided door of the dining room opened, and I entered, you stopped, and you saw that I was looking for you and I didnโt see you, and you became pallid, and I was wearing that sea blue suit, straight cut with three buttons that was the latest thing, and mother nothing and the other resident of the table nothing, only I who entered and was looking for you both and for you, papa, they said you were pallid, standing as if at the head of a large populated family table, and you said that phrase, that for the moment Iโm going keep, that I keep it for all moments, for all time, but that in this paragraph I wonโt pronounce it, that it is the key, it is a key, a special key to the Word, that worried all of you so much, because you were rationalists as I was earlier, and surely they loved you and they took care of you and they took you to see the doctor.
Strength, my Old Man. When you talk of shipwrecks, itโs because you didnโt drown. Strength. We have navigated a great deal, during many years, in the manyโat the end of the yearsโminutes of the visit. The visit was for you and for me, the Sea of Encounter. And there we climbed on our own raft and set off to row memories. You Outside and my Most Here came together in that sea that separates two continents. In it, yes, here, in that frontier, yes I could be with you. So that these lines are, papa, like they say, the Stories of the Frontier. And there, in the asylum, papa, all, so old, So orphan from outside life, all, there, although it happens, time stops in the rear garden, and a couple becomes part of the world again, a glance through the eyeglasses, a coquettish smile, and so the 2 with the one from 14 become sweethearts, between them, sweethearts, and they speak with the Director, who asks about the seriousness of their intentions, and it is a love story that ends in a marriage, with a party, she in white in the Synagogue of the Home, and there will be changes in the lodging arrangements, because they are going to live together. It was an event. But, generally, time continued to be long and likely was stopping to carry someone along, like it was carrying you two, that you avoid โeven seeing your son.โ I believe, papa, the old die when they want to, and so you and mama, your โtrinket,โ as you call her, took it calmly and bore it, waited until that night, dear night, when my real body transposed the many doors, guarded, the first well-guarded, that was when it was not time, I didnโt enter; the โcity of the canesโ slept with one eye open, it has passed by so many times in so many places, our elderly are sacred, that nobody may touch them, because they have been often touched, and above all you and mama. Old Man, because the Director received many telephone calls, many calls that they never told you about, โtake out of here those shitty old people, the parents of this bastard, take them or we will blow them up,โ and they never told you, and there were meetings, sessions, consultations,โ and โthey donโt leave here,โ and they didnโt leave, they didnโt send them from the last Refuge, blessed Raquel, and all the others who were more vigilant, โbut they donโt leave here.โ
Soy artista visual dedicada principalmente a la pintura acrรญlica, el grabado, la cerรกmica, y el arte objeto. Mi trabajo investiga la textura y el color. Me interesa el color y la textura, y me motiva la vida cotidiana en las ciudades. He realizado exposiciones privadas en Costa Rica, Mรฉxico, El Salvador y colectivas en diversas partes del mundo, tales como Estados Unidos, Francia, Espaรฑa, Nicaragua, Argentina, Chile y otros. Obra de mi autorรญa ha sido seleccionada por comitรฉs curatoriales para participar en diversas exposiciones y subastas, por ejemplo, los libros de artista “Identidad y Diversidad”, “Art Bra”, “Sumarte”y “Salรณn Anual ACAV” Cadaquรฉs, Bulgaria. Soy Licenciada en Sociologรญa y en Psicologรญa por la Universidad de Costa Rica. Recientemente, escribo cuentos.
El cuento “Juramento” apareciรณ, en marzo 2020 en la Antologรญa Femenina de Escritura Mรกgica (Volumen 2) 38 autoras, San Josรฉ, Costa Rica; Ediciรณn Aurelia Dobles.
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I am an visual artist who works principally in acrylic painting, prints, ceramics and art objects. My work investigates texture and color. Color and texture interest me, and I am motivated by everyday life in cities. I have had solo exhibitions in Costa Rica, Mexico, El Salvador and participated in group shows in different parts of the world, such as the USA, France, Spain, Nicaragua and Argentina, My works have been selected by curatorial committees in diverse exhibitions and auctions, for example, the artist’s books “Identity and Diversity”, “Art Bra”, “Sumarte”, “Salรณn Anual ACAV” Cadaquรฉs, Bulgaria. I have a degree in Sociology and Psicologรญa por la Universidad de Costa Rica. I hold degrees in Sociology and Psychology from the University of Costa Rica. Recently, I’ve been writing short-stories.
The short-story “Juramento” appeared in March, 2020 in Antologรญa Femenina de Escritura Mรกgica.(Volumen 2) 38 autoras, San Josรฉ, Costa Rica: Ediciรณn Aurelia Dobles.
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Otras entradas de Iliana Piszk/Other posts by Iliana Piszk:
โโMijita, quรฉdese en el comedor un minuto, ya vengo, quiero hablar con usted, de aquรญ no se mueva.
Buba Sara me mirรณ de reojo y se fue disimulada a buscar algo a su cuarto.
Entre curiosa y sorprendida repasรฉ lo que la abuela guardaba en la cรณmoda: la caja de galletas con tapa de flores repleta de collares largos y cortos, la bolsa de plรกstico con frasquitos de medicinas, los paรฑuelos de seda que se ponรญa cuando hacรญa viento o cuando iba a rezar al โShilโ en โRosh Hashanaโ y โYom Kipurโ, el pequeรฑo costurero con la almohadita llena de alfileres y botones de todos los tamaรฑos y colores, uno que otro libro de tapa aรฑejaโฆ Hasta me acordรฉ del pedazo de madera falsa que engaรฑaba al ojo, creyendo que hasta ahรญ llegaba la gaveta, pero que en el fondo escondรญa una de sus mรบltiples huacas.
Un dรญa le preguntรฉ:
โโ ยฟBuba quรฉ guarda ahรญ?
โโMire mijita -me contestรณ-, ojalรก nunca tengamos que usar nada de esto, pero sepa que estas cosas fueron las que nos salvaron de la pobreza y nos permitieron salir de Polonia para venir hasta acรก, tener papeles al dรญa, algunas joyas de oro y un poco de plata escondidaโฆ Uno nunca sabe cuรกndo tiene que salir corriendo. ยฟVe la maleta que estรก debajo de la cama?… Usted ya tiene casi quince aรฑos y tiene que saber estas cosas, peroโฆ Dios libre le cuente a la โshicseโ [empleada de la casa] que esto existe; ni ella ni nadie tienen que saber, ยฟme oyรณ?.
La Buba regresรณ al comedor con una Biblia de tapa gastada entre azul y gris, con el cartรณn resquebrajado, no tanto por el uso sino porque ella misma le habรญa arrancado de tajo la secciรณn del Nuevo Testamento. De ese gran capรญtulo solo quedaba como evidencia un tronco de papel rasgado. Entre la รบltima hoja entera y la tapa se formaba un gran hueco que no disimulaba la furia del maltrato que habรญa recibido el pobre ejemplar.
โโยกUsted sabe! -exclamรณ mirรกndome a los ojos-, los judรญos tenemos prohibido leer esa parte. Para nosotros la Torรก termina aquรญ, y ni se le ocurra jamรกs ir a buscar el otro pedazo en ninguna otra Bibliaโฆ ยกEso no es para usted!
En ese momento ya hablaba fuerte y su expresiรณn transmitรญa temor, pero de pronto se le congelรณ la pupila y me dijo:
โโNo es de esto de lo que quiero hablarle, mijita. ยกEs algo mucho mรกs serio!
ยฟQuรฉ podรญa ser mรกs serio que la Torรก?, no me lo querรญa ni imaginar, aunque mi corazรณn latiendo me anunciaba castigo divino y mi mente volaba por los infiernos encendidos en llamas y colmados de monstruos negros y azules y diablos colorados.
โโPonga su mano derecha encima del libro y vuรฉlvame a verโฆ Me va a decir la verdad, pero no solo a mรญ que soy su abuelaโฆ Va a jurar ante Dios, Bendito sea su nombre. Tiene que prometer: ยกPor su vida! โZolijazelibnโ ยกque a usted nadie la ha tocado por encima de las rodillas!
Sentรญ que la sangre se me iba a los pies y un escalofrรญo me recorriรณ el cuerpo entero. ยกยฟCรณmo se dio cuenta?! Si yo subรญ las escaleras de la casa silbando y entrรฉ como si nada, campante y alegre, directito a hacer la tareaโฆ
โโ Acuรฉrdese que es prohibido jurar en vano. Tiene que decirlo bien concentrada y desde el corazรณn. Porque con ese juramento, mentir estรก prohibido y usted estarรญa pecando ante Dios que la estรก viendo. Acuรฉrdese que รl estรก en todos lados.
Me sentรญ en una Corte llena de jueces con peluca y policรญas con pistolas, con ganas de escaparme, lista para recibir el veredicto de โculpableโโฆ โยกA la reja!โโฆ Me acordรฉ del programa de Tres Patines que siempre terminaba con esa frase y que hacรญa reรญr a todos. Pensรฉ que ojalรก estuviera en la teleโฆ
Por suerte en ese preciso instante me acordรฉ de Otilia, la โshicseโ de la casa, la que me cuidaba desde niรฑa y me ayudaba a alistarme para ir al colegio, la que me servรญa el almuerzo y me enseรฑaba a bordar en las tardes mientras todos trabajaban, la que me contaba los cuentos de la Llorona y la Segua y me aconsejaba sobre el bien y el mal. Otilia me habรญa explicado que cruzar los dedos lograba anular cualquier juramento, que las palabras que la boca decรญa no servรญan de nada, siempre y cuando mantuviera los dedos de la mano izquierda bien cruzados, bien disimulados, donde nadie pudiera verlos โy, por supuesto-, yo le creรญ.
Mirรฉ a la Buba a los ojos desde los mรญos acuosos, y con mi falta de saliva puse la mano derecha sobre la Torรก y mi mano izquierda bien escondida detrรกs de la espaldaโฆ Dije en voz baja, casi entre dientes:
— Por mi vida, Buba. Le juro por Dios que a mรญ nadie me ha tocado por encima de las rodillasโฆ
โMy dear, stay in the dining room for a minute, Iโll be right there, I want to speak with you, donโt move from here.โ
Buba Sara looked at me through the corner of her eye and went, hiding her intentions.
Both curious and surprised, I looked over what grandmother kept in the commode: the cracker box with a floral cover, full of long and short, the plastic bag with bottles of medicines, the silk scarfs that she wore when it was windy or went she went to pray at โShilโ during Rosh HaShona and Yom Kippur, the little sewing box with the small cushion full of needles, buttons of all sizes and colors, one or another, one book after another with old covers. . . I even remembered the piece of false wood that tricked the eye, making you believe that the drawer ended there, but in the bottom she hid one of her many hidden guascas, treasures.
One day I asked herโ
โBuba, what are you keeping here?
โLook, my dear—, she answered me, โLetโs hope that we never need to use any of this, but you should know that these things saved us from poverty and allowed us to leave Poland to come here, to have our papers up to date, some jewels of gold and a little silver hidden. . . You never know when you have to leave on the run. Do you see that suitcase that is under the bed?. . .You are already fifteen years old and you have to know these things, but. . . God forbid that anyone tell the โshikseโ (the household employee) that this exists, no her or anyone else should know, do you hear me?โ
Grandmother returned to the kitchen with a Bible with a well-worn cover, between blue and gray in color, of cardboard broken not so much by use but because she herself had cut away the New Testament. From that large chapter, the only evidence that remained was a core of torn paper. Between the last complete page and the cover formed a large gap that didnโt hide the furious mistreatment that the poor copy had received.
“You know!โ she exclaimed, looking me in the eyes, โwe Jews are prohibited from reading that part. For us, the Torah ends her, and donโt let it ever occur to you to go looking for the other piece in any other Bible.. . .That is not for you!
At that moment, she was already speaking loudly and her expression transmitted fear, but suddenly, the pupil of her eye became cold and she said to me:
โNo, this is not what I want to speak to you about, my dearest. It is something much more serious.”
What could be more serious than the Torah? I didnโt even want to imagine, although my beating heart was announcing divine punishment to me and my mind flew through the hells, burning in flames and filled with blue and black monsters and red devils.
โPut your right hand on top of the book and then look at me. . .You are going to tell the truth, but not only to me, your grandmother. . . You are going to swear before God, blessed be his name. You have promise: On your life! โZlichzelibn: that no one has touched you above the knees!โ
I felt that my blood went to my feel and a shiver went through my entire body. How did she guess? If I climbed the stars of the house, whistling and I entered as of nothing had happened, relaxed and happy, and went directly to do my homework. . .
โRemember that it is prohibited to swear in vain. You have to say it with concentration and from your heart. Because with this oath, lying is prohibited and you would be sinning before God who is watching you. Remember that He is everywhere.โ
I felt myself to be in a Court full of judges with wigs and policemen with pistols, wanting to escape, ready to receive the verdict of โguiltyโ.. โTo prison.โ I remembered the programs of the โThree Stoogesโ that always ended with that phrase and that made everyone laugh. I thought that I wished I were on television.
Fortunately, at that precise moment, I remembered Otilia, the โshikseโ of the house, who took care of me since I was a child and helped me to prepare for high school, the one who served me lunch and taught me to embroider, while everyone was at work, who told me the stories of the Llorona and the Segua and counselled me about good and evil. Otilia had explained to me that crossing your fingers annulled any oath, that the words said by mouth didnโt mean anything, always and when you kept the fingers of your left hand, well-crossed and well-hidden, where nobody couldโand of course, I believed her.
I looked at Buba in the eyes with my watery eyes and with a lack of saliva in my mouth, I put my right hand on the Torah, and my left hand well-hidden behind my back. . . I said in a low voice, almost between my teeth: โOn my life, Buba, I swear by God that nobody has touched me above the knees. . .
